At 11:05, the blast of a horn breaks the silence of the sea. Then comes the sound of agitated instructions flying from the bows to the sterns, and first-time sailing dogs onboard bark with excitement. Our boat has taken the prime starting spot, but another one with a shiny blue hull edges past and overtakes us. To our left is a boat that seems to be struggling just to move. “There’s no wind on the left,” Allen spots this and immediately shouts to the front. “Just go for speed; don’t spin.” Loik Morgant, a seasoned sailor on
Freedom, and his shipmate Her keep sprinting back and forth to adjust the ropes and sails, nimbly edging past us.
Operation: Save The Turtles
There’s hope, however. Since 2014, WWF-HK and its Vietnamese counterpart have been collaborating on the Fishery Improvement Project, which has replaced about 15,000 J hooks with C-shaped hooks for 150 participating fishing boats.
“Circular hooks are less likely to be swallowed and are the most effective way of preventing the bycatching of sea turtles,” says Lai. Before the project, one out of every 400 sea turtles was caught by the J hooks. Vietnamese fishermen have reported to her that there have been fewer bycatches since they started participating in the project.
Green turtles, the only species that nests in Hong Kong, face a different threat, even before they hatch. Satellite tracking shows that the Hong Kong nesters travel between Hong Kong, Hainan in China and Dao Bach Long Vi Island in Vietnam. Every nesting season, from June to October, green turtles return to their place of birth, some in Hong Kong, to lay eggs. According to Andy Lau from